Latching means for venetian blinds



y 29, 1945- R. H. WRIGHT 2,376,990

LATCHING MEANS FOR VENETIAN BLINDS Filed July 24, 1944 Patented May .29,1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LATCHING MEANS FOR VENETIAN BLINDSRichard B. Wright, Cleveland, Ohio Application July 24, 1944, Serial No.548,255

2 Claims.

This invention pertains to the art of Venetian blinds and involvesprimarily certain novel improvements in hardware for the hanging of suchblinds.

A special object f the invention has been to devise a novel form ofcombined pulley, cord lock, and tilting bar bracket unit useful in theVenetian blind hardware art, and which embodies a special form oflatching device for locking the pintle of the tilt bar in the supportingbracket carried by the head bar of the blind unit.

The latching means above referred to comprises primarily a latch platehaving a lock member for closing the entrance opening of the supportingbracket of the tilt rail or bar, after the pintles of the tiltrails-have been introduced into the receiving recesses or supportingslots of said bracket. As a safety means the latching device is providedwith a detent part which will interlock with the bracket proper in orderto prevent accidental movement of the latching device from its lockedposition, and which'movement would result in possible displacement ofthe tilt bar of the blind.

For a full understanding of the present invention and the novel featuresof construction of the unit referred to reference is to be had to thefollowing description and to the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary front view illustrating the head rail of aVenetian blind as it is arranged when mounted upon the top of a windowframe and showing the hardware unit of the present invention appliedthereto along with the supporting means forming a .part of the unit,which supporting means carries the tilt bar on the blind.

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view taken about on the line 2-2 ofFigure 1 an looking in the direction of the arrow, showing particularlythe latching means for the tilt bar arranged in' closed position.

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2, showing only the combinedpulley, cord lock, and tilt bar supporting unit, the latching meansdisclosed as when adjusted to its opened or unlocking position.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional view showing the manner in which thedetent member interlocks with the bracket opening to hold the lockdevice against accidental displacement.

Specifically describing the general arrangement of the parts of theblind in conjunction with which my invention is illustrated, andreferring particularly to Figure 1 of the drawing, it is notable thatthe general blind unit in conjunction with which the present inventionis used includes the usual head rail I which is mounted at the top ofthe window frame and is supported at an end by any suitable or commontype of supporting bracket designated 2 in the present instance. Onlyone end portion of the head rail and only one of the brackets 2 areillustrated in the drawing.

As seen in Figure 2, the head rail I is cut away at its end portion asshown at Ia for the purpose of the mounting of the combination pulley,cord lock, and latching bracket features of my invention. The unit lastreferred to includes the depending bracket member 3, the said bracketmember 3 being formed with a horizontal flange 3d at its upperedgeportion which flange is attached to the under side of the head rail I asby means of suitable screws 3b. At its'lower end the bracket 3 is formedwith a hook-like portion that provides a pintle receiving slot 3d in thebracket such slot having a common form of entrance portion as generallyfound in brackets of this type.

At the outer side of the bracket 3 is mounted I a somewhat rectangularhollow casing 4 in which are supported the usual pair of cord pulleys 5,the axis of which is designated 5a. The pulleys 5 receive the pull cords6 which travel thereover and longitudinally of the head rail I andextend downwardly, as not shown, to points of connection with the lowerend of the Venetian blind slat unit. By pulling down upon the cords 6the slats of the Venetian blind are collapsed and elevated in the commonmanner, this operation having no particular relation to the presentinvention.

Within the casing 4 is the usual cord lock member I which is pivoted atIa to the sides of the casing and this cord lock is adapted to engagewith the cord 6 and disengage therefrom by the manipulation of said cordby the operator of the blind, This last feature is of course common inVenetian blind structure.

Passing now to the latching means of my present invention, it is notedparticularly clearly from Figures 2 and 3 that said means includes alatch device 8 which is pivoted at 8a to the lower portion of thebracket 3, this being the supporting hook portion that will carry orhold the pintle members on the tilt bar designated A. Projectingupwardly from the body of the latch device 8 is a detent arm 9 and thisarm is provided at its upper end with a pressed out projection I2adapted to register with and enter an opening or recess II formed inthe. body of the bracket 2.

vided the lock arm or member l which member is adapted to extend acrossthe entering portion of the slot 3d of the hooked lower end of thebracket 3-; Extending laterally from the lower end portion ofthe device8 is a handle or fingerpiece I l which may be grasped in order to swingthe latch device around a pivotal axis to, either to carry the lock armIII to its locking position shown in Figure 2. or to move the device noits unlocked position shown in Figure 3.

It will be seen that the tilt bar A is equipped with the usual pintlemembers ll, one of which is illustrated in Figure 1, and these pintlemembers are adapted to be received in the slot or recess 3d of thebracket 3. 1

In the use of my present invention, the parts of the hardware unit asseen in Figure 3 will be adjusted as in this figure when thetilt bar Awhich carries the slat unit of the blindis to be mounted upon the headrail I. This operation is accomplished'merely by emplacing the pintle ofthe tilt bar A in the slot portion 3d of the latch device 8 and bracket3. The latch device 8 as seen in Figure 3 is in its open position,enabling the above operation to be performed and the movement of thelatch device toward its open position is limited by; the upper detentarm 9 abutting with the pulley and cord lock casing 4.

The tilt bar A having been hung upon the bracket 3, two of which ofcourse being provided, the latching devices like that designated 8 areclosed by manipulation of the fingerpieces ll swinging the said devices8 about the pivotal axis or axes 8a to the position as shown in Figure 2at which time the projection l2 enters the opening ll for eachof thelatch devices, and the said devices are thereby held in their lockingposition against accidental movement or displacements.

The hardware unit of my invention is applied to the head rail I as aunit by arranging the pulley and cord lock casing in the slotted portionla of the head rail and attaching the flange Ia of the bracket 3 bymeans of the suitable fastenlnsl provided therefor and designated 3b.

Having thus described .my invention, what I hook. portion of the bracketto close the mouth or entering p rtion of said hook for looking a pintletherein, said latch body being also formed with an upwardly extendingdetent arm having releasable interlocking engagement with the bracketfor preventing accidental displacement of the latching device fromits'latching position.

, 2. In Venetian blind hardware of the class described, a combinationpulley. and cord casing and bracket unit including a pulley and cordlock casing, a bracket having attachingmeans for securing the same in adepending position from a head rail of a blind, said bracket beingformed with a hooked portion at itslower end providing va pintlereceiving slot having an entrance portion for the hook portion.attaching means for securing the pulley and cord lock casing to a sideof the said bracket, and a latching device pivoted intermediate its endsto the side of the bracket and provided at its lower portion with a lockarm for extending across the entering portion of the pintle supportingslot at the hook portion of the bracket, said latching device alsoprovided with an upwardly extending detent arm adapted to abut with thepulley and cord lock casing for limiting the opening movement of thelock arm portion of said latching device, and said detent arm beingformed with a projection for holding the latching device in its positionwherein the lock arm thereof closes the pintle receiving slot, thebracket having an opening to receive said projection when theinterlocking relation is established. RICHARD H. WRIGHT.

